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Should the government allow seismic testing for oil deposits off Florida’s Atlantic coast?

This 2010 file photo shows crews working to clean up oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that washed ashore at Pensacola Beach. The Obama Administration has been moving forward on plans to allow oil and gas companies to conduct seismic tests for the purpose of finding oil deposits off the Atlantic Coast of Florida. (AP Photo/ Michael Spooneybarger, File)

Following last year’s announcement to allow seismic testing, the Obama Administration has been moving forward on plans to allow oil and gas companies to conduct seismic tests for the purpose of finding oil deposits off the Atlantic Coast of Florida.

But Florida Sen. Bill Nelson has proposed legislation to ban the practice. Florida, which relies on our beaches for tourism, is especially vulnerable to long-term damage from oil spills. As such, protecting our coastline should be a top priority. No one comes to this state for a beautiful view of oil rigs.

Seismic testing is a technique that allows mapping under the sea floor by sending pulses of sound into the ocean bottom. Supporters of the testing claim it is safe. They claim that the tests are just a way to survey the amounts and locations of oil and off the coast. In their view, seismic tests are about information-gathering, not drilling.

This explanation to be misleading, at best. Using sonic pulses may have unanticipated effects on sensitive ocean life, and the environment. The U.S. government’s report on the environmental impact concedes that there could be moderate injury to marine mammals and turtles. Further, there is no point in finding oil if there was not at least some desire to exploit either resource. Therefore, it seems preposterous to argue that after mapping and classifying the coastal area, there will not be a push to drill for any oil that is found.

Plaintiffs in the 2010 Gulf oil spill have reached a $211 million settlement with Transocean, the owner of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf following the April 2010 explosion on the drilling platform. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Already in Congress there are attempts to roll back the protections we have against off-shore drilling. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has introduced legislation to reduce the 225-mile oil drilling ban off our coasts to only 50 miles. For a Louisiana senator to champion this effort is surprising, since the Gulf region is still recovering from the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. That spill occurred 49 miles off the coast, spewing 3.1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and its effects will likely be felt for years to come. It appears the tons of oil sludge deposited across the Gulf may be around for a long time. As a result, scientists are still studying those possible long-term consequences, especially to ocean life and the coastal marshlands.

In Florida, protecting our coasts has never been a partisan issue. Both Republican and Democratic governors, including former rivals Jeb Bush and Lawton Chiles, have supported off-shore drilling bans. Florida’s miles of beaches remain one of the most valuable natural resources in the state, if not the country. Putting them at risk is short-sighted, especially in light of the damaging spills that have occurred off our coast, and just recently in California. Oil and gas companies might want to take the risk.